The market is ever-hungry for skilled IT professionals. The combined forces of high demand and relatively low supply squeeze higher and higher rates out of clients who desperately try to outsource both their daily IT operations and special projects after the perspective of staffing an in-house IT unit became untenable due to potential employees being more interested in engaging in high-risk / high-reward freelance hunts than an in settling for stable employment. Body leasing, also known as contractor staffing, has become a popular solution for all parties involved. However, it’s potentially a vicious circle that comes with its own set of drawbacks, often overlooked despite their destructive influence on the entire industry.
The Hidden Costs of Body Leasing
Body leasing is becoming a controversial issue in the IT industry. While it may seem like a quick and easy fix for everybody, it can lead to long-term and far-reaching consequences. IT companies that rely solely on providing body leasing services rather than building a permanent team and developing a strong partnership with clients slowly devolve into something akin to mere employment agencies. This undermines the credibility and integrity of the IT industry as a whole. Meanwhile, IT specialists who focus solely on maximizing their earning potential can end up commoditized, leading to an unsustainable job market. Finally, clients who prioritize cost-cutting over quality and control may end up with actually overpriced and certainly subpar results, with no one accountable for resolving the problems that are surely ahead.
A demoralizing game
Done badly, body leasing is sure to result in less commitment and effort on all sides of the equation. Employment agencies posing as IT companies are interested primarily in closing the deal and not in quality control. The recruitment process is fast, vetting cursory, oversight minimal or virtually non-existent. Freelance contractors are often working for multiple clients (and employment agencies!) at the same time and may not have the same level of dedication to their work as provided by permanent employees motivated by stable wages, benefits, and commitment to their team’s and company’s success. Finally, clients risk losing control over the entire process by simply falling out of the loop. In effect, their own employees lose interest in the project at hand, and when all is said and done nobody feels responsible for picking up the pieces.
A vicious circle
Clients wish to cut costs, but lose money on implementing inadequate solutions. IT companies, instead of evolving into trusted advisors with stables of carefully selected and well-compensated professionals ready to pour all their skill and creativity into the task at hand, turn into paid distributors of projects among a somewhat random collection of individuals. Freelancers chase higher rates, but many of them lose job security in the process, and those who succeed in playing the body leasing game become alienated from their work and have no incentive to continuously learn and grow and grow as professionals.
Where do we go from here?
Many IT companies and specialists are painfully aware of these issues, and the same goes for some of the clients, especially those who had the unpleasant privilege of enduring the downsides of using body leasing services. To combat the crisis, IT companies and clients need to take a collaborative approach. The former should strive to become trusted IT advisors, concentrate on building long-term relationships with their clients and create real teams dedicated to the projects they develop. This both provides clients with better results and adds to maintaining a sustainable job market for IT specialists. Clients, on the other hand, need to value this approach of IT companies and prioritize quality over cost-cutting. This way, they can ensure that their projects are properly managed and the final results are up to par, with the added benefit of having someone accountable for resolving any problems that arise in the process and in the future.
Ultimately, it is the combined effort of IT companies and clients that can turn the tides and create a better, more sustainable environment for everyone in the IT industry.
Wojciech Biedziński, Client Success Manager